May 2, 2025
May 2, 2025
While we’ve regularly planned volunteer activities in and around San Francisco — from preparing lunches at Larkin Street to beach cleanups — launching the E3thos program this year prompted us to think about how we could take our commitment to give back a step further. We wanted to continue to provide one-off opportunities for employees to volunteer, and at the same time saw how an ongoing partnership could have greater impact and foster more meaningful relationships with community members.
In a company-wide poll, education topped the list of non-profit sectors we felt passionate about working with. Of all of the educational organizations we looked into, San Francisco Education Fund’s “Circle the Schools” program was an obvious choice, offering guidance in customizing a partnership that fit our interests and a local school’s needs. We were quickly matched with Moscone Elementary School, just a 15 minute walk from our office. To kick the partnership off, we mapped out a handful of activities to support the school off the bat, most of which are rooted in writing and literacy.
In honor of Dr. Seuss Day last month, 16 of us signed up to lead read alouds in each classroom to help get students at every grade level excited about reading. From The Cat in the Hat to Madeline and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Mission North volunteers were almost as excited as the kids at the opportunity to claim their favorite childhood titles for reading time. We stuck around afterwards to sort and level a shipment of 5,000 books into classroom sets, so students can choose according to their reading proficiency. All in all, we had a great time and walked away energized and grateful for the opportunity to work with the students, teachers and principal at Moscone Elementary.
Check out some of our Dr. Seuss Day pics.
